The last subject in the series “Who is Jesus?” is Jesus as the Second Adam. Does that sound weird or what?!
The First Adam
Adam was the first man that God formed out of the dust. He blew breath into him, gave him life, and set him in the Garden of Eden. God decided it wasn’t good for Adam to be alone, so he created Eve from Adam’s rib, and all was good.
God’s Covenant with Adam
Although the word covenant is not found in these scriptures, the components of covenant exist. There are two or more parties, terms (rules), and the possibility of consequences for breaking it and benefits for keeping it. God and Adam are the apparent parties. Adam was to take care of the garden. In Genesis 2: 15-17, God laid out some pretty simple terms with the consequence for breaking the agreement:
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it, you will certainly die.”
Adam and Eve took care of the garden and ate what it produced. They were welcome to everything in it except for one thing – fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Violation of this rule would result in a type of death sentence.
In the garden lurked a crafty ‘ole serpent. He started chatting with Eve and sowed a seed of doubt into her mind by asking if God really said they couldn’t eat from the tree. Of course, we know the rest of the story – they both ate the fruit, realized they were naked, hid from God, and suffered the consequences. The first one God dealt with was the serpent, aka Satan.
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.” (Gen 3:14-15 NIV)
This curse is all about Jesus. God put a mutual hatred between the demonic realm and all of humanity – of those who follow the devil’s ways and those who follow God’s ways. Ultimately, Jesus will crush the devil’s head while the devil will only strike Jesus’ heel. Satan thought he had won when Jesus was crucified, but he was wrong! Jesus rose on the third day, defeating death. Jesus was merely struck on the heel – it was not a fatal blow. Satan, on the other hand, lost his head. Yes, I know bad stuff is alive and well on the earth, but Jesus broke the headship of the devil. If you choose to go God’s way through Jesus, you can break free of the wiles of the devil.
Next, God moved onto Eve:
To the woman He said,
“I will greatly multiply
Your pain in childbirth;
In pain you will give birth to children;
Yet your desire and longing will be for your husband,
And he will rule [with authority] over you and be responsible for you.” (Gen 3:16 AMP)
Eve’s headship changed from God to man.
And lastly, Adam:
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”
The covenant was broken, and Adam and Eve were removed from the easy life in the garden that God had planted. Now they had to work hard, plant and plow, and make their way instead of living in the perfect will God had for them. God didn’t desert them, but their days of easy living got replaced with a much harder life and left a chasm between man and God.
The tasting of the forbidden fruit introduced sin not only into God’s paradise but into all of humanity from that day forward. They gave Satan authority and a foothold in the earth, and he has been wreaking havoc ever since. In other words, Adam lost dominion over the garden God gave him, but we can get it back!
The Second (Last) Adam
In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul writes about Jesus, the second Adam:
“If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.” (1 Co 15:44-49 NIV).
Paul explained to the people that Adam came first as a natural being. Jesus came second as a spiritual being of heaven. Those of us who have lived on the earth since the time of Jesus have the option to be both. We are born in the natural like Adam, but we have access to carry the image of Jesus as a spiritual person. That choice is ours, but we do have the option.
Adam’s creation was supernatural – God made him from dirt and breathed life into him, creating a sinless being. Jesus’ birth was also supernatural. He was conceived by Holy Spirit and bore by Mary. This conception kept Jesus free of the sin of Adam.
Adam’s test was not to touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which he failed. Jesus was baptized by John, which released the spirit into him. From there, he was sent to the wilderness to be tested. He fasted for forty days, and at the end of that time, guess who showed up? Yup, it was the devil again. He knew who Jesus was and tried to get him to “prove” he was the Son of God. He was tempted with food, the testing of God to save him, and the wealth of the world. Jesus didn’t let Satan talk him out of God’s plan but instead commanded Satan to leave. He passed the initial test.
At the end of his ministry, his obedience is again tested. Will he take the beatings, humiliation, and death by crucifixion? Or will he save his own life? Jesus was faithful to the end, which gives people the opportunity to succeed where Adam failed.
Adam’s disobedience brought sin into the world, while Jesus’ obedience bound up the spirit of sin and death, offering us life. Yes, we will die physically, but through Jesus, we have the option to live forever. We have the opportunity to grow in the things of God, find out what His plan is for us, and live a joyful overcoming life. It doesn’t mean life won’t have pain or hardships, but it does mean Jesus will never leave or forsake us in the midst of it all. As I always say, the choice is yours.
Until next time, be blessed!
